Costin tells of selection criteria
Vodafone Fijian Bati head coach Brandon Costin said players who displayed a lot of flair during the Battle of the Bati trials stand a good chance of making the Fijian Prime Minister’s XIII side.
Costin attended the trials at the Uprising Sports Centre in Pacific Harbour, Deuba, on Saturday.
The Fiji Prime Minister’s XIII take on the Australian Prime Minister’s XIII at the ANZ Stadium, Suva, on October 11.
He said more than 90 players attended the East v West trials.
Speaking to SUNsports, he said the local players showed their full potential during the trials.
“I saw their raw talent, speed, power and skills that is purely Fijian,” Costin said.
“The Fijian flair the boys have will be the difference when we play the Australians next week.”
“Every single player that plays in that game will be local players. This is the opportunity for the local boys to get taped on the shoulders by an NRL team by performing well in the Prime Minister’s XIII game. “I also wanted to see the depth of some of the boys in the decision that they make during the game because we are going to play some young but experienced players in that team.
“It will be quite interesting to see how the boys go through their discipline in the sets and the game plan that we have.”
Costin added that the inclusion of the overseas based-players will boost the squad’s preparation.
“Their presence will help the local boys build up to game day. It’s going to be a great day to see the level of rugby league that we have here in Fiji being played against the Australian based players.”